About & Sources

What is this?

E-Number Index is a static reference catalog of food additives identified by their EU E-numbers (E100, E621, etc.). It is designed to help consumers, students, and food professionals quickly look up what an additive is, how it is used, and what public regulators have said about its safety and permitted use.

Data provenance

All entries are curated from publicly available regulatory and scientific sources. Each additive cites EU authorities (EFSA, Regulation 1333/2008, Codex) and, where available, U.S. authorities (FDA, eCFR). Where a specific numeric limit or ADI is listed, it is attributed to the cited authority. Fields marked as “not specified” or “see Annex II” indicate that a single universal value does not apply — we do not invent regulatory numbers.

Regulatory status can change. This catalog reflects information available at the time of curation. Always verify critical decisions against the latest official publications.

Primary sources

• European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

  Scientific opinions, re-evaluations, and ADI assessments for food additives used in the EU.

• Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008

  EU framework regulation on food additives, including Annex II (permitted additives and uses) and Annex III (conditions of use).

• EU Food Additives Database

  European Commission database of authorized food additives and their conditions of use.

• Codex Alimentarius — GSFA

  FAO/WHO General Standard for Food Additives with international INS/E-number cross-references.

• U.S. FDA — Food Additives & Ingredients

  U.S. regulatory context where relevant for internationally used additives (GRAS, color additive lists).

• eCFR — Title 21 (U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, food)

  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations for U.S. food additive and color additive rules.

Contributing data

New additives can be added by editing the JSON data file. See the project README for the schema and contribution guidelines.